The Way Things Are
by PaSsIoNaTeDrEaMer
Summary: Can Derek save her this time?
1. Chapter 1

"I cant be pregnant, can I?" Meredith looks up at Cristina. "According to this, you are, and sonograms don't lie." Meredith closed her eyes and stared at the ceiling thinking, "What the hell do I do now?"

Meanwhile, in the OR, Dr. Shepard was finishing up his surgery on a 2 yr old little boy who had massive swelling in his brain due to his father throwing him against a wall. He stared at the little boy wondering how any parent could ever hurt their child and cause such damage. At that point, he vowed to himself, if he were to ever have a child of his own, he would be the best father he could be.

"How am I going to tell Derek that I'm pregnant?" Meredith looked at Cristina for support. "Don't look at me. You may be my person and all, but I'm not getting you out of this one." Cristina looks up and freezes. "You're pregnant?" Someone from behind spoke up.

His face dropped. He asked again, "You're pregnant?!" This time with more hostility in his voice. "How could you, how COULD you?! You, you, you WHORE!" With that he threw the flowers he had bought her to the ground. When Meredith turned around, she saw a broken Finn, with tears streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know how this happened..." Before she could finish, he spoke up, "I'll tell you how this happened. You don't know how to keep your panties on and you screwed someone while we were dating. I thought you were special Meredith, I thought we had plans..." Meredith interrupted, "NO Finn YOU had plans! Plans I was NOT ready for, I've known you, what, TWO WEEKS?! Two freaking weeks and you already have our LIFE planned out! I'm sorry Finn but I can't do this anymore. Please leave." She turned on her heel and began to walk away from him when she heard a thump and blacked out.

_SHOOT TO DEREK IN THE SCRUB ROOM_

Derek's pager goes off. 911 in the lobby. He dries his hands and rushes to the lobby. As he busts thru the doors, he sees and unconscious Meredith, a bleeding Cristina and Finn, holding a baseball bat. "DON'T YOU MOVE DR. SHEPARD!" Finn screamed at the top of his lungs. Do it and I'll kill them both!" Derek froze. There she laid in a puddle of blood trickling from her ear. He was about to break down when he saw George come running up from behind.

Finn didn't see George coming, and within seconds George had tackled Finn and knocked the baseball bat from his hands. As the two of them roll around fighting, Derek rushed to Meredith's side. He checked for a pulse, but felt nothing. He started yelling for a gurney and some oxygen for her so that he could get her up to the ER immediately. There was no time for any tests or scans. He had to open her up to find out where the bleeding was coming from.

_SHOOT TO OPERATING ROOM WITH DEREK FIGHTING TO REVIVE MEREDITH_

"COME ON Mere, you CANNOT do this to me. YOU CANT! I love you, you know I love you! You can NOT leave me now!" The machine started beeping very slowly then her pulse started to grow stronger. Derek let out a sigh of relief as she began to stabilize. Once everything was prepped, the anestesiologist administered the sedative and Derek began working to save the life of the woman he loved.

_A FEW HOURS LATER_

Derek sat at the side of Meredith's bed waiting to see if she would ever wake up. He continued to monitor her progress and kept checking to see if she fluttered her eyes. After about 6 hours of watching her, he decided he needed rest. He laid his hand on her hand, tears streaming down his face and he felt her twitch. He looked up to see her smiling at him. "Hi daddy," she said to him. Startled, he said, "What did you say?"

"Hi daddy. When is mommy coming home? It's my birthday and she didn't even call me!" Tears began to well up in Meredith's eyes. Derek was trying to figure out what she was talking about. "Mommy doesn't love me does she daddy? I'm so glad you do!" She broke down and was crying hysterically. Derek tried to comfort her, "It's ok baby, mommy loves you, shes just been really busy lately. Im sure she has something wonderful planned for you." Meredith looks up at Derek, "You promise?" He smiled, "I promise."

_SHOOT TO POLICE STATION_

Finn is in custody and George was finally leaving after giving his statement. As George turned to leave he heard Finn say, "This isn't over Georgie boy. You tell that whore and her lover to watch every step that they make because, I will be there. I will be on their every footstep. I will be in their thoughts, dreams and everywhere they turn, I will be there. George continued out the door to rush back to SGH to see how Meredith was doing.

Meanwhile, In the locker room Cristina was alone. " I should have done something. I saw the hatred in his eyes. I saw the way he went from soft and loving toward Mere, to absolute rage and fury." She buried her head in her hands and began to weep. She felt a hand on her shoulder, "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have predicted that the whole time he had a baseball bat behind him. There is no way this is your fault so don't blame yourself." She looked up and into the eyes of Alex, of all people. He embraced her and let her cry. "Shhhh, its ok, shes doing ok now, she woke up you know..." Cristina's head jerked up, "Then why are we still sitting here? Lets go!"

Izzy had the day off, so she had no idea what was going on at the hospital until her phone rang. It was George. He was out of breath and sounded like someone had died. He gave her the rundown on what had happened that morning. She dropped what she was doing and rushed out the door. There was only one problem: She didn't turn off the oven.

_IN MEREDITHS ROOM_

Derek was still holding her hand, she started talking, "Daddy, what did YOU get me for my birthday?" She lit up like the only candle burning in the room. He paused, not realizing she saw the expression on his face. "Nothing? You didn't get me anything either?" She jerked her hand away as the tears started to well up in her eyes again. He quickly replied, "Of course I did sweetheart, its just in the other room. I'll be right back." He stood up wondering what exactly was happening to her. He knew he had to get the tests run on her to find out as soon as possible, but his first priority was to find her the perfect birthday present.

He walked into the hallway, and ran into Cristina and Alex rushing to Meredith's room. He stopped Alex, "Hey you guys should know, she's not 'herself'." They stopped. "She thinks I'm her daddy and today's her birthday and she doesnt think her mother loves her because she didnt get a gift. She asked ME for a gift so I'm going to find SOMETHING for her. Alex, could you and Cristina run a CT so I can find out more what's going on in her head?" He nodded, and went into her room. Derek looked at Cristina, "How are you doing?" "Fine, I just want to see Meredith." He nodded and let her past.

_SHOOT TO DEREK IN THE GIFTSHOP_

He walked into the giftshop and the first thing he sees is a music box with a carousel on it. He turned it on and the music started to play "Daddy's little girl." He smiled and knew this was THE perfect gift for Meredith. He paid for it and started to walk slowly back to her room. Suddenly, a man stepped in front of him blocking his view. "Excuse me," Derek said to the man. "No, Excuse ME," the man hissed back at him. Derek, startled, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" The man grabbed Derek by the arm causing him to drop the carousel he had just purchased for Meredith. He threw Derek up against the wall, "I have a message for you." He shoved a piece of paper toward Derek, let him go, and walked away. Shaken, Derek bent over to pick up the shattered pieces of the perfect present he had just bought for Meredith. Luckily the woman working in the giftshop had seen the encounter, and gladly handed him a replacement free of charge. She smiled sweetly, she was pretty. Blonde, green eyes, a look of innocence that was vaguely familiar. She reminded him of Meredith.

Derek decided to look at the message the man had shoved at him. It was a picture of Meredith looking terrified. Alex and Cristina were sitting beside her tied up. The picture was taken in the CT Room. Laying in front of the trio was a shotgun. Under the photo said, "DO AS I SAY OR I WILL KILL THEM ONE BY ONE" Derek dropped the picture and he fell to the ground. Tears streamed down his cheeks. What ELSE could go wrong?

_SHOOT TO CT ROOM_

Finn looked at the trio, "You didn't think I'd get out so soon huh. Money is a lovely thing," His eyes flashing with pure hate and evil. "You see Meredith, I told your friend Georgie boy to tell you, No matter where you turn, I'll be there." Meredith was looking more confused than anything. "TALK TO ME BITCH!" Finn screamed at her. She flinched and started to cry hysterically. "Who, who, who are you?" She was trembling. This enraged Finn even more. "WHO AM I? You KNOW who I am! WTF is WRONG with you?" Cristina spoke up, "Hey, remember when you knocked her out cold with your baseball bat? Well it messed something up with her and she lost most of her memories. She thinks she's like 5 and today's her birthday. Cut her some slack, you're the reason shes like this." He smacked her across the right cheek, "Did I tell you to talk?"

The chief was walking through the lobby when he saw Derek on the floor crying. "Shep, what's going on?" Derek looked up, handed the chief the paper and broke down again. "Oh god, what's going on Shep?" Derek filled the chief in on what had gone on since early that morning, by the end of the story the chief was on the floor with Derek consoling him. "We need to figure out a plan of action." Derek agreed. They decided to call in the big guns. They spoke with the local PD, the FBI and the SWAT teams. Within the hour, SGH was surrounded. They were discussing what was going to happen next when the intercom interrupted everyone.

"Listen up. I know something's going on because Dr. ASS didn't come looking for his PRINCESS WHORE. I want to know what's going on or I will shoot them one by one, and let you hear it over the intercom." Everyone was looking around wondering what was going on.The swat team motioned to Derek to go up there and find out what he wants. They followed closely behind him making sure Finn didn't pull anything stupid. Derek knocked on the door to the CT Room and Finn pulled him in quickly. "There you are, what happened, did you call the cops again?" He smirked at Derek and shoved him onto the gurney with Meredith. "Daddy!!!!" Meredith squealed and hugged him tight. Finn, looking confused, "Let go of her, do NOT TOUCH her!" Derek held her tighter. Finn raised the gun toward Derek and Meredith, Cristina spoke up, "DON'T! SHES PREGNANT!"

Derek's head snapped toward Meredith. "She, she's pregnant?" He choked out. Cristina nodded. "But, but, she thinks shes like 5, she probably doesnt even know where babies come from!" Cristina looked at Finn who was still pointing his gun at them. "Finn, look, how do you know the baby's Dereks? Seriously. Do you KNOW this. Do you KNOW everything about Meredith? Do you KNOW that YOU are the reason she doesn't know what's going on?" The more she charged him, the more he felt like he was losing control. He couldnt take it anymore. She wouldnt stop talking. He suddenly swung the gun toward Cristina. POW (gunshot)

Everyone screams, Meredith buries her head into Derek's chest and covers her ears. Derek looks around and sees Alex standing over Cristina laying on the ground. He then glances at Finn who is lying face down on the floor. He had been shot in the back of the head. Derek looked around wondering WHO had shot him. The SWAT team was no where to be seen. He was cradling Meredith telling her everything was going to be OK as he continued to scan the room. Slowly, a figure came out of the dark. "STOP!" Derek screamed. "Don't hurt her, take ME, just DON'T take HER!" Tears were flowing out of his eyes as he yelled at the figure. Suddenly he saw who it was and let out a sigh of relief. "George..."

George rushed over to Derek and Meredith. "Are you guys Okay?" "How, how did you know?" Stuttered Derek. "When I was leaving the station Finn 'warned me' that he would be back. He would be everywhere you turned. I knew he was up to something so I've been shadowing you since I got back and when I saw Alex and Cristina heading to CT I took the stairs and beat them here." Derek looked surprised. "But, where, where did you get the gun." George looked down at his shoes, "I stole it from the police station. When I was there the guard had an emergency and left his gun on the desk. When no one was looking, I grabbed it and ran out. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner this morning. I could have saved her ya know." Derek nodded, "We all could have." He looked down at Meredith who had fallen asleep in his arms due to exhaustion.

Derek knew Meredith was still in critical condition and not only that, probably shock. He quickly ran the CT to notice she still had bleeding into her brain which was affecting her memories. He called down to the chief who was already on his way up with the coroner and more doctors so that they could figure out how to 'fix' poor broken Meredith.


	2. Chapter 2

_AFTER HER 2ND SURGERY BACK IN HER ROOM_

Meredith wakes up in a hospital room wondering where she is and what had happened. Her head was fuzzy and she had one HELL of a headache. She looked around to see Cristina, Izzy, Alex, George and Derek huddled around her bed waiting to see if she was 'fixed.' "Hey guys, what happened?" Izzie perked up, "You know who we are?" Meredith looked at her blankly. "Of course I know who you are! We are roomates!" Izzie just laughed as Meredith sat there still looking completely confused. Derek smiled, "Welcome back." Meredith smiled back, "Derek, we need to talk..."

Derek listened intently as Meredith told him that she was pregnant and the child was his. It broke his heart to see how torn in two she was and he could tell she was unsure as to if she had even told him. He smiled his McDreamy smile at her, and pulled a gift out from behind his back. "Here, this is for you." Shocked, Meredith unwrapped the gift Derek had just given her, and she began to cry. "This is for the baby," he told her. I promise, no matter what, you will always be my girl. No matter if this child is a boy or a girl, I want him or her to know, that I will always love their beautiful mother more than anyone could ever know."

_LATE THAT NIGHT_

Izzie and George return home to see the yard filled with fire engines, cop cars, and all the neighbors looking on. They jumped out of the car and ran up to the first fireman they saw. "What happened here!?" Izzie screamed. "Ma'am, do you live here?" She nodded. "Well the oven was left on and caught fire. Luckily, someone called us early and only minimal damage was done to the kitchen. We cant let you go back in yet until we are sure that the fire's completely out." She sat on the grass and cried, "I can't believe I forgot to turn off the oven. When you called George, I just left. I didnt think, I just walked out the door. THOSE DAMN MUFFINS!" Izzie swore she would never bake muffins again.

_THE NEXT MORNING_

Meredith wakes up to the sun shining in Seattle. Derek is laying in the chair next to her bed. She smiles at him, he begins to stir. He could feel her looking at him as if looking deep into his soul. Suddenly, Addison barges in, startling them both. "THERE YOU ARE! Oh my god Derek what happened? Meredith, are you okay? You must have been scared to death!" Forgetting that Meredith was the woman who basically stole her husband, Addie was being relatively nice to her. Meredith looked up at her and smiled, "I'm doing much better Addison, tho I'm still not sure what happened and no one will tell me." She looked toward Derek trying to figure out how to get it out of him. "We will be right back Meredith," he grabbed Addi's arm and led her out into the hallway. He sighed and began telling her the details of how the day before had unfolded.

By the time Derek had finished, Addi was in tears. Not for herself, but for the pain Meredith was in and how rotten she had been to her in the past. Derek looked deep into Addi's eyes. "There's something else..." She nodded for him to continue, "Addi, she's pregnant."

Addison's jaw dropped, but she wasn't really in shock. She knew it would be a matter of time the way those two loved one another, yet it still hurt her deeply. She smiled at him, then suddenly turned anxious, "Derek, has she had an examination to make sure the baby's ok?" Surprised, Derek looked at her and realized he had never even thought about that. "OH GOD , no she hasnt! What was I thinking?!" Addison grabbed his arm, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She walked silently back into Meredith's room.

"Meredith, I need to check on your baby." Meredith sat up stricken wondering how Addison knew about the pregnancy. Then Derek walked in behind her. "You told her?!" A bit of anger was heard in her voice. Addison interrupted, "I'm happy for you Meredith. I just want to make sure this baby didnt sustain any stress or harm during the whole ordeal. "What 'ordeal' are you talking about?" Meredith questioned. I don't know what you're talking about." Addison looked back at Derek, "Haven't you told her yet?" He shook his head.

"Told me WHAT?! Tell me, I'm NOT a child!" Derek sat down and explained to her what Finn had done, and by the time he was finished, she was in tears yet again. "What did I do to deserve this? What did I ever do to deserve being this unhappy?" Derek looked at her, "I promise, I will keep you happy every day for the rest of my life. Nothing like this will EVER happen again. Now, PLEASE, let Addi make sure our baby is okay." She nodded.

Addison did her exam and looked up at Meredith, somewhat somber. "Mere, I don't know how to tell you this. The stress caused on your body and your head injury has put some stress on the baby. You are spotting and trying to miscarry. I'm going to sew you up to help keep the baby inside you. I know how badly Derek has always wanted a child, and other than myself, of course, I cant think of anyone I'd rather him have one with." Tears filled her eyes as she said the last part, but seeing the reaction on Meredith and Derek's faces, it was worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

_SHOOT TO MEREDITHS HOUSE_

A few weeks had passed, Meredith had been released and was under the best care. Derek had temporarily moved into her house to make sure she didn't overdo it. She had nightmares, every night, flashbacks from that day. Finn full of rage. The bat he swung. The feeling of being alone, cold and empty. She would wake up in a cold sweat and there Derek was. Waiting. Always waiting for her. He consoled her and told her again and again what had happened. Her short term memory was still concerning him. She would do fine for a day or so, then relapse and want to know why he was in her bed in the middle of the night.

It was getting hard for Derek to have her look at him, cold, uneasy eyes, wondering exactly why he was there with her. He tried to explain what had happened but it was like her brain wasn't processing it. He wanted to get her in for more tests, he wanted to help her recover. She was tired of the tests, tired of hearing "poor Meredith," tired of it all. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Sadly, no one knew when that would be...

"STOP! NO! I'M SORRY! I JUST FOUND OUT! PLEASE IM SORRY DON'T..." blackness. She jerked out of bed causing Derek to hit the floor. "What happened Mere?" She snapped her head at him, "Derek?" she asked cautiously while scanning the room. "Where is he, hes here, I saw him, I feel him." Derek, concerned, asked her, "Who's here honey, its just us..." She had tears in her eyes, "No Derek, HE's here. Finn's here." He sighed and looked at her and felt their hearts connect. "Mere, Finn is dead...He's not coming back...There's no way he can hurt you again..." he was interrupted by a voice: "Are you sure about that?"


End file.
